Dominique Carnovale Metcalfe
Executive Chef
David L. Lawrence Convention Center
Pittsburgh, PA
Standing on a chair next to her mom, while kneading dough or making sauce, Dominique always loved being in the kitchen. Dominique graduated from IUP Academy of Culinary Arts in 1993 and was named "Junior Chef of the Year" by ACF. After graduating, she was the first woman to works on the hot line, under an Austrian Chef at The Grande Hotel on Mackinac Island in Michigan, serving 800 for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Dominique finished the season and quickly headed south to The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida. While working with very artistic chefs in the Garde Manger kitchen, she learned everything from salads to fruit/vegetable artistry to California rolls and hors d'oeurves. This was just a stepping stone for her next big move...Zurich, Switzerland.
Dominique, being the first student to travel abroad, made her Culinary Chefs very proud. She apprenticed under and Italian Chef in a fine dining French restaurant with 10 meeting rooms. She also spent time in the butcher shop, garde manger and the hot kitchen where bulk prep was made for the entire Train Station. She was very determined, through all of the discipline, to complete her apprenticeship. Dominique left Au Premier with both Chef de Partie Saucier and Chef de Partie Entremetier titles. In 1996, she returned back to The Breakers in Palm Beach and opened The Florentine Show Kitchen as Chef Tournant, where she worked under a Norwegian Chef with a Mediterranean style menu. Here she worked each station of the kitchen, saute being her favorite.
Next came The Hyatt Regency Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, in 1997. She became the first Chef, of the 700 employee restaurant, serving four meals a day. This was a very stressful, emotional and heavy job. She introduced food which the employees had never seen before, while she learned traditional Middle Eastern food and cultures. Her next move in 1999 to Sydney, Australia was her favorite and most memorable.
Becoming the first American employed by the Sydney Convention Center and Exhibition Centre, the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, was a great accomplishment. She managed up to 30 cooks plating up to 5000 people for dinners. This is where she found her excitement and passion for convention centers and catering. When returning to the States, she worked in Pittsburgh at the Oxford Athletic Club as the Restaurant and Banquet Manager. This job really opened her eyes to management and she wanted to return to the kitchen. In 2001, she joined students and fellow alumni from IUP in Tuscany at the Italian Culinary School for Foreigners, where she had hands on schooling of her favorite foods. From Pittsburgh, she moved to Indiana, PA to completely turn around the family owned business of 50 years. She catered to weddings, business meetings and public events up to 800 people. Because she comes from a large family, she always promotes family and teamwork in each kitchen.
Dominique moved back to Pittsburgh in May of 2003 and joined the Levy Team at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center just in time for their opening in September. She quickly took on many responsibilities, helping with ordering, receiving and scheduling. In January 2004, she received the title of Executive Sous Chef and has not stopped growing in the company. She assisted The World Congress Center for the Microsoft Convention twice, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the St. Louis Convention Center. She attended Management Academy in October 2004 and Food Cost Management in 2009.
Dominique was offered the Executive Chef position in August of 2008. She took is with open arms and "runs is like she owns it"! Since then she has catered sit downs up to 5000 and has catered to the economic leaders of the works with the G20 Summit, which was held in September 2009. She enjoys all of the "behind the scenes" preplanning which goes into an event.
Now, her son, Carmen (4) is standing on the chair next to her, making sauce and homemade noodles! This is what she really enjoys, spending time in the kitchen with both her family and her Levy family.
Dominique and her husband, Greg, and their two children currently reside near Monroeville.